Football: Liverpool Need Carroll To Step Up

As a Newcastle player, the only question marks over Andy Carroll revolved around his off-field antics. But five games into his first full season at Liverpool, Carroll finds his performances on the pitch under scrutiny too. With Kenny Dalglish’s side stuttering, that £35M transfer fee looks even more head-scratching than it did in January.

In a Newcastle shirt, Carroll’s goalscoring record – 11 goals in 18 league starts during the first part of last season and 17 Championship goals in 2009/10 – was eye-catching enough that concerns over his lifestyle slipped into the background. He was instantly billed as the new Alan Shearer, a future saviour for England and a target for the biggest clubs in the country.

But while he was hogging the back pages, the striker also stumbled onto the front pages too. Carroll’s love of the Tyneside nightlife was no secret and it led to a fine from a crown court judge for assault.

Back then, Carroll was repentant, vowing to clean up his act. “I just have to put everything that has happened behind me now,” he admitted. “I will learn from my mistakes. And I just now want to concentrate on football. I just need to keep my head down and I think there's a great group of lads here to help settle me down a bit.”

Then, in January, Carroll landed at Anfield. Injury denied the Liverpool fans a real chance to pass judgement on their new striker last season, though one of his five appearances was an impressive two-goal show against Manchester City. Expectations on Merseyside shifted dramatically over the summer. By taking their spending for the 2011 calendar year to more than £100M, the club had signalled its intent to move from an also-ran to a title contender.

Fans appreciated that this transition would not happen overnight but this season was billed as the first big stepping stone. At this rate, though, progress might be slower than anticipated. Liverpool have collected seven points from five games, losing their last two at Stoke and at Tottenham and failing to score in either fixture.

Through all of this, Carroll has been little more than a bystander. He is yet to open his account for the season, was left on the bench against Stoke and has failed to show even glimpses of the player who won the hearts of Newcastle supporters. His team-mates have fared little better but that has not stopped Luis Suarez from notching two goals or Charlie Adam and Jose Enrique from making encouraging starts.

And the pressure on the 22-year-old has intensified since England manager Fabio Capello’s comments earlier in the month. “His style of life is a problem if it is not good because he needs to be careful,” the England boss explained. “He is an important player. He understands what he needs to do. If he wants to be a good player and a good sportsman, he needs to drink less than the others.”

To read the rest of the article, visit http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/09/22/andy-carroll-liverpool-resurgence-required-to-answer-critics/49506/

Football: Rooney Ready For Career Year

Almost a year ago, Wayne Rooney was on the verge of leaving Manchester United, desperately seeking to escape a media storm and openly questioning the club's plans to improve an undermanned squad. All that seems a long time ago now.

Going a step further, it is hard to believe the saga occurred at all, given how Rooney revived himself in the final four months of last season and how unstoppable he has been thus far this term. From having one foot out the door, he has managed to fully rebuild his image and win back the United fans.

Admittedly, the 2011/12 campaign remains in its earliest stages – United have played just five league games, after all – but Sir Alex Ferguson's side have flown out of the blocks with such blistering pace that it feels fully justified to begin drawing conclusions about where this campaign might lead.

And one of these conclusions is that, barring injury, Rooney is on the way to his best season to date. Clearly relishing playing alongside vibrant, younger team-mates – from Phil Jones to Tom Cleverley to Danny Welbeck – the England striker has embraced his new role as one of the senior voices on and off the pitch. Experienced figures like Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar and Paul Scholes have gone but Rooney is stepping up to fill the void.

While, by most standards, he is still learning and honing his game at 25, it should be remembered that the striker has been a Premier League regular for more than seven years. He has already won four league titles and played in three Champions League finals.

Nine goals in five games, highlighted by back-to-back hat-tricks against Arsenal and Bolton, have shown the benefits of a full summer break, free of international commitments. Rooney netted United’s third goal against Chelsea on Sunday but could easily have gone on to add a third hat-trick of the year.

His form drew high praise from Benfica manager Jorge Jesus ahead of the Champions League clash last week and this in turn led Ferguson to compare his talisman to Brazilian legend Pele. “If you look at Pele, he was a very aggressive attacker who could also look after himself and so can Rooney,” the United boss explained. Praise indeed.

On the flanks, Ashley Young and Nani have been electric, providing the type of cutting edge that United have not had since Cristiano Ronaldo bolted for Madrid in 2009. Rooney's partnerships with first Welbeck, before his hamstring injury, and now Javier Hernandez have sizzled. The Rooney-Hernandez duo tore Bolton's defence to shreds at the Reebok Stadium, a week after humbling Arsenal.

To read the rest of the article, visit http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/09/19/red-hot-wayne-rooney-ready-for-career-best-season/49349/

NFL: Patriots' Road to Super Bowl Starts in Miami

The New England Patriots were widely tipped to go all the way to the Super Bowl last year, only to succumb to the New York Jets. Tom Brady and company went big during the frenzied free agency period, snapping up Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth. The Patriots are all in for this season.

The Miami Dolphins, meanwhile, are seemingly overrated by most bookies, who think the Dolphins will win more than seven games. That looks doubtful given the limitations of their roster and the fact that they face New England and the Jets twice.

These two teams collide tonight in Miami...ESPN.com looks at the match-ups.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/6959913/new-england-patriots-areas-interest-season-opener

NFL: Week 1 Predictions

The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints got the new NFL season off to a flying start on Thursday night, with Aaron Rodgers' Packers squeezing to a 42-34 victory after stopping the Saints on the final play of the game. It has set the tone for a gripping year.

This Sunday, we get the first weekend of 2011/12 football, including some huge match-ups. Here are our predictions:

Pittsburgh Steelers (+1) @ Baltimore Ravens: STEELERS

Detroit Lions (+1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: BUCCS

Atlanta Falcons (-2) @ Chicago Bears: FALCONS

Buffalo Bills (+5.5) @ Kansas City Chiefs: BILLS

Indianapolis Colts (+9) @ Houston Texans: TEXANS

Philadelphia Eagles (-4) @ St. Louis Rams: EAGLES

Cincinnati Bengals (+6.5) @ Cleveland Browns: BROWNS

Tennessee Titans (+1) @ Jacksonville Jaguars: TITANS

NY Giants (-3) @ Washington Redskins: REDSKINS

Carolina Panthers (+6.5) @ Arizona Cardinals:  CARDINALS

Seattle Seahawks (+5.5) @ San Francisco 49ers: 49ers

Minnesota Vikings (+9) @ San Diego Chargers: CHARGERS

Dallas Cowboys (+5.5) @ NY Jets: COWBOYS

New England Patriots (-6.5) @ Miami Dolphins: PATRIOTS

Oakland Raiders (+3) @ Denver Broncos: BRONCOS

Football: Barcelona Still Team to Beat

As Barcelona lifted the Champions League trophy at Wembley back in May, the rest of the football world could have been forgiven for questioning whether they would ever topple Pep Guardiola's slick squad. After all, even the harshest judge would concede that Barcelona, in Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, boast three of the top five players on the planet.

The task of ousting the Spanish giants got even harder over the summer as Guardiola signed Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez, just adding to the attacking options at his disposal. Slight question marks remain over goalkeeper Victor Valdes and the defensive credentials of the back four - but Barcelona press so effectively that these are usually moot points.

And so, though no team has recorded back-to-back triumphs since the competition entered the Champions League era, Barcelona are understandably favourites to retain the trophy as the start of this season’s competition approaches.

But this is just the kind of challenge that the likes of Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson will relish. Real Madrid and Manchester United - along with Manchester City - lead the pack looking to dethrone Barcelona and all three teams have the attacking threats to back up their claims.

Mourinho's men wasted little time making their feeling known during the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona as the second leg descended into a major scuffle. As was the case last year, much will depend on Cristiano Ronaldo, who has put the team on his back time and again, and the ever-improving Mesut Ozil. Real would also receive a huge boost if Kaka could turn back the clock and rediscover the form that made him arguably the world’s most coveted player five years ago. They will reach the knockout rounds comfortably, despite drawing Lyon and Ajax in Group D, but then the tougher challenges will come thick and fast.

Meanwhile, United's injection of youth over the summer strengthens their credentials. Ashley Young has settled instantly while Wayne Rooney looks on course for the best year of his career. The centre of midfield remains a concern, however, with Ferguson finding neither the destructive ball-winner nor the creative spark that would be so priceless in Europe. Progress from a weak Group C, containing Benfica, Basle and SC Otelul Galati, will be a formality and Ferguson will hope to be blessed with the kind of route to the final that United enjoyed last season.

To read the rest of the article, visit http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/09/10/201112-champions-league-preview-barcelona-remain-team-to-beat/48820/

NBA: What Next For Celtics and Knicks?

The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks both failed in their bids to make inroads in last year's playoffs. The Celtics dumped the Knicks out in a 4-0 first round sweep, before losing 4-1 to eventual finalists the Miami Heat.

So what's next for these two major franchises? ESPN.com investigates:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-110905/boston-celtics-offseason-questions

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-110906/newyork-knicks-offseason-questions

NBA: Lockout Talks Continue on Wednesday

It looks like the NBA players and owners have finally realised that time is running out to salvage the full 2011/12 season. Another negotiating meeting has been set for Wednesday, just a week after the previous discussions. Prior to that, the two sides had barely spoken in weeks - so this is progress.

Sources say that the parties are still far from an agreement but more serious and more regular sessions must be taken as a good sign. It appears that if there is no agreement in two weeks' time, the pre-season schedule will have to be cancelled. After that, it's only a matter of time before the regular season is affected.

The next few meetings will be critical and fans around the world should cross their fingers that a compromise can be reached.

NFL: Season Just Five Days Away

With lockout fears a distant memory, the NFL is gearing up for the start of the 2011/12 regular season, which begins on Thursday night with the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers squaring off against the 2010 champs New Orleans Saints.

The Packers are rightly among the leading contenders to go all the way this season. If Aaron Rodgers is firing on all cylinders, no offense in the league is more dangerous. He has an array of talented receivers to work with, as well as a healthy Ryan Grant to spark the running game alongside the emerging James Starks.

The Saints will consider themselves contenders but the bigger threats to Green Bay will come from the New England Patriots, the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the San Diego Chargers also likely to throw their hat into the ring.

Stay tuned for coverage of the Packers-Saints opener next week.

Football: Hargreaves Gamble Worthwhile for City

Rarely can the closing days of the transfer deadline have been so heavily impacted by a player moving on a free transfer. It bucks all the trends – just think back to January, when Chelsea splashed £50M on Fernando Torres and Liverpool swooped for £35M man Andy Carroll. But, as other more lucrative deals proved to be mere rumours, it was Owen Hargreaves' surprise move to Manchester City that grabbed major attention as the summer transfer window closed.

The shock around English football came in part from the fact that City, having beaten Tottenham 5-1 at the weekend and with all their riches, were interested in Hargreaves. By all accounts, their summer spending was finished and there was already plenty of competition for places. For Hargreaves, though, it was major upgrade, with previous rumours linking the former England international with a move to West Brom.

The other eyebrow- raising element was whether or not Hargreaves, who has been struck down by an injury jinx since 2008, could possibly return to the form that made him a key cog for Manchester United and England - or even somewhere close to that form. He missed so much football while at Old Trafford, managing just 39 appearances in all competitions despite arriving back in the summer of 2007. That means a lot of ground to make up if he is to compete at the highest level.

And this is the lingering doubt. Former team-mate Wayne Rooney, no less, questioned these prospects, admitting it would be "difficult for him" while also wishing him well. The range of injuries is well documented, starting with the persistent tendonitis in his knees and continuing with the hamstring problem that derailed his latest comeback attempt early in November last year. Hargreaves, himself, must have doubts over how his body will hold up.

However, for City, it is a gamble worth taking. Boss Roberto Mancini is already blessed with midfield options and has nothing to lose by rolling the dice on the Canadian-born midfielder. If Hargreaves struggles to regain full fitness, City will plough on with Nigel De Jong, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure occupying central midfield berths – hardly a major setback.

For the full article, visit http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/09/01/manchester-city-with-nothing-to-lose-in-owen-hargreaves-swoop/48225/